Defined and Confined: True Color of Race

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081214/ap_on_re_us/obama_s_not_black;_ylt=AtmLcu5jqQKkhdJh3BQAaxBvzwcF

The official race that President-Elect, Barack Obama, represents with should not be as definitive as people are demanding it to be. I think that he can both acknowledge his black self and his white self if he wishes and call himself by whatever he sees fit. Mixed, mutt, biracial, half-black, or half-white should all be acceptable because all are true. I understand where they are coming from but the biggest separation in our country seems to be these dividing lines of race. They aren't necessary and in the end don't matter to the issue at hand.
It's amazing that the words "black" and "white" can have so much history connected to them. For example, in this article one person associates the label "black" as being warranted through the fact that one's ancestors can be traced back to slavery. In this case, I understand that there is a certain struggle that is attributed. On the other hand, being labeled "white" should then have the same historical references too. But, it seems that there is no general idea that "white" equals being of ancestors who lived in America with fair skin. Anyone, who has fair skin will be called "white". So, making such a bold statement creates interesting discussion on the topic because majority of the population, black or white, are being grouped into something they may not agree with in the first place.
Do words have history? Should it matter what word he chooses to represent himself? I say no, but everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

Questions About Language

Why do we think about random things during the day? Does our language side of the brain just wonder about things on its own when we aren't actively using language?

Why are slogans so catchy? Do we have a fascination with rhyming and pun?

How are words invented and who has the authority to make them official?

"Music as a technology of the self"

http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxy.library.nd.edu/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VC3-3YCMDW2-2&_user=489835&_coverDate=10%2F31%2F1999&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000022718&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=489835&md5=45d331ec887ff79d056fba9fa74f2ed7

Although this article talks mostly about music sounds, it does touch on lyrics and the influence that lyrics in music plays. Very interesting ideas are found in this article.

"The attribution of emotion and meaning to song lyrics"

http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/uploads/tx_researcherprofile/04-Polskie-Thompson_Russo.pdf

This article touches on the relationshiop between music and lyrics with three experiments that test emotional response, meaningfulness, and effects of repeated exposure. This article has really interesting theories and associations between the music and lyrics found in songs.

Self Expression and Lyrics/Poetry

So, after reading the article about the love songs of the Bedouin I began thinking about he role that lyrics and poetry have played in my life. As a hopeless romantic, I pride myself in being able to appreciate the words and emotion behind some of the worlds best poems while listening to some of the sappiest love songs ever written. Yes. I am one of those girls. An any case, I find it intriguing that these songs are used to release emotional tension and to satisfy the need to express emotions as well. Both the receiver and the sender are using the peice as a tool and supposedly both find satisfaction through it. Poetry is used in the same way. We write poems for people, find poems that express our emotion, or we recieve poems that help us understand the way someone else feels.

I think that the lyrics of a song make it so intriguing. A well-written song lasts forever and this can be attributed to the fact that its lyrics touch people deeply. We express ourselves and everyone knows that a good song can get you through a break-up, help you in a rebellion, help make a happy moment, or create a romantic situation. So, think about why that song is "your" song and why you listen to that one jam a hundred times a day.

Are you saying something that you really aren't saying?

The reading "The Decline and Fall of the Private Self" reminded me of a blog that I once discussed in a sociology class. We did a project on prostitution and the blog was an insight into the lifestyle. It is probably something that should be kept a secret in our society but it is interesting to see how willing and able this girl was in sharing her secret profession with the public on the internet.

http://collegecallgirl.blogspot.com/


In the same context, another website also breaks the barriers of personal information with the posting of people's most intimate secrets. This website is the popular http://postsecret.com.

My Log

Log- Sunday November 9, 2008

Texting:

Started at 11:19am

Sent 24 messages by midnight

Phone Calls:

Call: cousin
Started at 12:03am- Call Placed, Lasted 7:39
12:11am- lasted 2:22
12:13am-lasted 16.59
12:31am- lasted 9:23

Call:sister
Started at 12:40am- Call Placed, Lasted 4:28

Call: cousin 2
Started at 12:47-Call Placed, Lasted :05

Call: friend
Started at 12:48am- Call Placed, Lasted 11:16

Call: cousin 2
Started at 1:39am- Call Received, missed

Call: cousin 2
Started at 3:17pm-Call received, missed

Call: cousin 2
Started 3:32pm- Call placed, :01

Call: mom
Started 3:38pm- Call Placed, Lasted :57

Call: brother
Started 3:43pm- call placed, lasted :04

Call: cousin 2
Started 4:21pm- call received, lasted 4:27

Call: brother
Started 4:50pm- call received, lasted 2:29

Call: brother
Stared 4:53pm- call placed, lasted :51

Call: friend (home)
Started 4:28pm- call placed, lasted :09

Call: cab
Started 5:01pm- call placed, lasted :27

Call: cab
Started 5:02pm- call placed, lasted :09

Call: mom
Started 5:28pm- call received, lasted 1:13

Call: friend
Started 6:03pm- Call placed, lasted :46

Call: friend 2
Started 6:05pm- Call placed, lasted 1:18

Call: friend 3
Started 6:07pm- call placed, lasted :23

Call:friend 3
Started 6:13pm- call received, lasted 1:07

Call: friend (home)
Started 6:22pm- call placed, :02

Call: mom
Started 6:22pm- Call placed, lasted 2:51

Call: friend 3
Started 6:28pm- Call placed, lasted 0:17

Call: friend (home)
Started 7:24pm- call placed, lasted :30

Call: friend 4
Started 8:41pm- call received, lasted 1:09

Call: friend 4
Started 8:46pm- call received, lasted :14



Internet Use:

6:05pm-6:11pm-email
Received 4 emails
Sent- 1 email
6:13-6:28pm- news (CNN)
6:10-6:25- facebook
8:36pm-8:46pm – IM convo
8:44-9:11pm- IM convo
8:51pm-8:52- IM convo
9:15pm- IM convo (family)
9:46-11:28pm- IM convo
9:25-10:44pm youtube surfing, articles

Movie:
11:36pm: Under The Tuscan Sun

Tim'es Person of the Year: You

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html

During this past week's discussion about new media, I wanted to learn more about how media is influencing the world around us. We spoke of the negative aspects of media, like the promotion of loneliness and anti-social behavior. I understand how people can feel that way but I have always seen new media as a way to connect to more people. The people we see face to face is limited to our location, our resources, and our social skills but through the Internet we are able to travel the world, meet new people, and never have to change out of our pajamas.

Time magazine came out with an article two years ago this Christmas naming YOU as their coveted person of the year. I was very impressed with the optimistic perspective this article took in praising the world's use of the World Wide Web. We have innovated, created, and celebrated on the Internet whether it be through facebook, myspace, YouTube, google, wikipedia, or more. We have brought the world together and now we can share information in milliseconds about our lives, our interests, and our dislikes. We have taken advantage of New Media by shopping online, exploring new music on itunes, blogging about nonsense, and "befriending" people around the globe.

I am proud to be a user of the World's most powerful social tool and a member of the world's largest social experiment: the Internet.

"Always On" and my opinion...

In her final paragraph, Baron puts forth a lot of the suggested social concerns we should have about the impact of technology on our lives. Her last line states, "Such choices give us ultimate control over language in an online and mobile world." I completely agree with this statement and understand technology as a tool for life rather than a hindrance to living.

I never understood how much of a negative reputation technology had for some people until I read this book. For all these years I've felt in control of technology. I do admit to feeling naked when my cell phone isn't on my person or "dead to the world" if my battery has died but that is just because I value its use as a connection to others in my immediate world. Technology connects me to people. I feel that my networks have expanded and have maintained because of the advancements of technology. The phone only connects me, once I am connected I use good old fashioned human interaction skills to strengthen bonds and reaffirm relationships.

There was a sense of utter shock that the issue of talking to my parents so often in college could actually be called an "issue." Maybe in the old days coming home and telling stories brought people together but I feel keeping my family so update makes them even closer. They live with me, I have not left behind everything, and I am able to share what I want, when I want. There is still plenty to talk about once at home and there has never been a moment where we sat in awkward silence wishing I had held back the story of my first snow, or the phone call about the great paper I wrote, or my first football game. Being so far from home, I thank God for new technology because it aids my homesickness and allows me to stay informed when important things happen. I don't think anyone in my family misses the old days of waiting four months to talk and update ourselves on life. And I personally don't know that many people who send home regular updates regarding weekly happenings and accompanying photos via email.

Concerning facebook and its world domination, I understand that it forms meaningless connections with people (I'm not going to say friendships). I use it for entertainment, to pass time, and to stay in touch with people I don't see and probably won't be seeing for a very long time, if ever again. It has some function but is not primarily seen by the college majority as a serious friendship/dating place for all social interaction. It's really not that serious and it seems this book made it so much more serious than we take it, or at least how I take it.

We do control how much we want to be connected. Some people use Internet and cell phones because that's what they need and others don't because that's good for them as well. At the end of the day, we still interact with people as much as before and we use our technology to do so. We share YouTube videos, we compare cell phones, and we have a reason to ask for a number (so we can text them about meeting up sometime) and all this keeps us in control of technology. Who knows what the future has in store but I know that being connected isn't always a bad thing. Like she said, anything in life used in moderation is good for you. There are those who don't know how to control themselves that develop unhealthy lifestyles.

Project Topic>>>Emoticons and IM Status

Emoticons and IM Status: Fashionable, Functional or Just Fun?

With Instant Messaging, Myspace, and Facebook having features that encourage the use of emoticons and status, I am interested in finding out why most people use them. To be clear, the status is an area where one can leave their current whereabouts for condition for others to read. So, are they merely for fashion (i.e. is it cool to do it?), is it functional to really express your current state, or is it just for fun? I also am interested in finding out if there is a variance between genders in how often one changes their status or what kind of status one uses. This can also go for the use of emoticons between genders.

To include an enthrographic component I would study the status of my friends on facebook, myspace, and Insant messenger to see what they write and how functional/fun/fashionable they may be. I also might interview a few people and ask them about their use of emoticons and status on these various social networking devices. Texting may also be included in emoticon usage. When I say functional I mean that they are using it to seriously convey their current emotional or physical state. Fun would be including videos or random things like jokes. Fashionable might be anything that is used often, like cliché quotes or things that seem done along with a majority.

The status option and use of emoticons definitely fits into our class because it shows the expression of emotion and physical state in a disconnected way. This is one method of communicating personality with, what I feel is interaction, that is not physical. Why would people want other people to know what they were doing, thinking, or feeling? Is it our way of connecting further to others via online social networks?

Gender Issues and IM ---Naomi Baron
http://jls.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/23/4/397


Kinetic Typography-based Instant Messaging---Bodine and Pignol
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=765891.766067&type=series

Information Revelation and Privacy in Online Social Networks---Acquisti and Gross

http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/~acquisti/papers/privacy-facebook-gross-acquisti.pdf

Political Satire

With the elections right around the corner, political satire has become common in various media outlets including newspapers, magazines, and television shows like "Saturday Night Live". As we read about political and persuasive speech, I think that the recent popularity of such satire is very much political persuasive speech because it defends or makes fun of one side of the election. As we see on SNL skits about Sarah Palin, the intention is to make her look ridiculous to the United States. As a mode of persuasive speech we can infer that they are attempting to slander her character and persuade people that she really is unfit for the job. On the same note, these media outlets are really showing their political choices by not equally spoofing both parties but rather just one. This to me makes an more powerful persuasive statement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdDqSvJ6aHc

The reading I found regarding politics and comedy looks closer into the life of Al Franken, a comedian turn politician, and the relationship of politics and comedy. This article dissects the effects of comedy on politics and questions the role each plays. Is it okay for politicians to be funny? Is there a line that must be drawn. Is comedy a type of persuasive speech? We can think about these things as we examine what the article has to say.

http://g.ggimg.com.proxy.library.nd.edu/itx/itx_2_1_0_119/images/Gale_logo_top.gif

The Fallout: New Zealand Style

So I decided I would check out an article from a New Zealand newspaper to apply Fairclough's elements of media studies. Relative to the United States, I discovered that New Zealand is also going through an election season and the topic of the recent wallstreet woes is of great importance. I chose this article because it writes about a topic we Americans face in the newspapers daily, not to mention read about everywhere on the internet. I don't think many Americans realize how much it is influencing the rest of the world, and that is exactly why I wanted to read about their perspective.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/vote08/4719479a28479.html

This article definitely is written as a form of information for the public sphere (of New Zealand I guess, to be more specific). When analyzing the representation I noticed that the article included lots of talk about the two parties and their political actions on this situation in relation to the election and subsequently the people of New Zealand. This included lots of talk about tax cuts (the main point of the article), the fall of the dollar, and the many other negative consequences that New Zealand is suffering. What I noticed was excluded was the fallout itself, who is affected and how, and maybe their opinion of what caused it. These things are usually mentioned in the American reports of anything mentioning Wall street and stocks these days.

I'm not sure if I'm using presupposition accurately but I find that this article assumes that the economy is done for and it scared me. I think its the way the author suggests the downfall of their entire economy and offers up solutions or situations that seem so final and pessimistic. The vocabulary used adds to this effect by painting such a dark mood. Using words like "grim", "knife", "carnage", "stunned", "diving", "bare", "crisis", and "one light on the horizon".

The event in this article is the definitely the fallout and the resulting tax cut solutions while the action in this event surrounds the government and the political parties. The author nominalizes both the National and Labour parties and in many instances provides active duties for them such as "National reins in tax cuts" or " National has taken a knife...". There are many other examples within the article.

Through the article the author tends to use more formulation style writing when mentioning specific people's opinions. Rather than quote them, he always does a he says/she says style of reporting opinion that shows he is not directly quoting and probably choosing how and what he wants them to say to accommodate the article's purpose. If you see toward the end he mentions a Mr. Key and a Miss Clark but offers no direct quotes.

I also wanted to note that I found it incredibly interesting that they only mention the United States once and that is when they mentioned the price of oil in terms of the US dollar. I didn't realize how hard other countries were taking hits in regards to this financial crisis.

Media and Politics: Fairclough

I like how this reading begins with the goals of the book. I was immediately drawn in with thier examples of how the proper analysis of media reveals great things about how we are persuaded to think cerains ways. The reference to 'foregrounding' and 'backgrounding' allowed me to see certain media situations from a different perspective. Word choice, imaging, and setting all set the tone for what the media wants you to believe and how they would like you to follow the story they are writing.


I enjoyed these tips that help one analyze media:



1. How is the world represented?

2. What identities are set up for those involved in the programme or story?

3. What relationships are set up between those involved?



The last section on critical media literacy also suggests more criteria to look at when analyzing media text. It is great that Fairclough suggests that students learn these kind of questions to use when making their own opinions about what they will be influenced by in the media. I really wish I was taught this when I was younger because so often I believed what documentaries said or what news reports covered and never questioned the biased nature. I was naive in that I never questioned the information I was given, ever and now I look back and see that I could have been skeptical all this time. Could this be a cultural thing? Maybe. Maybe I just wasn't raised to question things I might have believed I had no right questioning. Is this how people today think? Possibly.

Random But VERY Interesting Poem I Found...

So this is a very random post but I read it and enjoyed it very much. This is for your reading pleasure!

Pronunciation Poem

I take it you already know
of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
on hiccough, thorough, laugh and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
to learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
that looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead -- it's said like bed not bead --
and for goodness' sake don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt)
A moth is not the moth in mother,
nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there,
nor dear and fear for bear and pear.
And then there's dose and rose and lose --
just look them up -- and goose and choose,
and cork and work and card and ward,
and font and front and word and sword,
and do and go and thwart and cart --
come, come I've hardly made a start.
A dreadful language? Man alive.
I'd mastered it when I was five.

The Veep Debates

So I did watch the VP debates and would have written in my blog sooner but I was on some pain meds at the time and passed out soon after. I enjoyed both sides of the debate and noticed that it was very important to find the right words to say. Word choice seemed to be the theme of the night because everyone was all too cautious of the fact that people(media pundits) were ready to pick at every little thing they said. The next morning it was obvious that the media was looking even closer at what Sarah Palin had to say, especially because they expected her to do worse and expected her to "eat her words" more often than she did.

In my own opinion, there was a lot going on beyond the debate itself that distracted from the importance of the issues. There were too many references beyond the two candidates and some situations that seemed a little unrealistic to be debated at that time.

I feel that the media is too biased to be making the claims that they do. I like to keep my political opinions to myself because everyone seems to be an extremist in their views and tend to get too involved in trying to convince you of how wrong you are. So, in that case I'm not going to state who I liked better. I think both of them spoke really well and represented their parties to the best of their abilities. It was an amazing thing to see public speaking at its best especially when two people are capable of keeping thier composure during such a highly publicized event.

Politics and the English Language

After reading Em's blog I kind of borrowed her idea about checking out the politician's websites for political sources. I was having the hardest time trying to decide exactly what a "political source" would be defined as. I really enjoyed Orwell's argument because it provided me with a new perspective on the English language. I like the way he suggest that we simplify the way we write in order to eliminate the poof and and a little spice. Creating images and sensory without repeating what others say in common metaphors and sayings. Anway, this is my attempt at applying Orwell'ssix rules/suggestions for better writing.

Reform Contracting
Create Transparency for Military Contractors: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will require the Pentagon and State Department to develop a strategy for determining when contracting makes sense, rather than continually handing off governmental jobs to well-connected companies. An Obama-Biden administration will create the transparency and accountability needed for good governance. Finally, it will establish the legal status of contractor personnel, making possible prosecution of any abuses committed by private military contractors.
Restore Honesty, Openness, and Commonsense to Contracting and Procurement: An Obama-Biden administration will realize savings by reducing the corruption and cost overruns that have become all too routine in defense contracting. This includes launching a program of acquisition reform and management, which would end the common practice of no-bid contracting.Obama and Biden will end the abuse of supplemental budgets by creating a system of oversight for war funds as stringent as in the regular budget. Obama and Biden will restore the government's ability to manage contracts by rebuilding our contract officer corps. They will order the Justice Department to prioritize prosecutions that will punish and deter fraud, waste and abuse.

1. For this first rule I may be stretching to find something but I picked out a few phrases that I find might be appropriate for this category. handing off government jobs/ launching a program
2. The words "acquisition, transparency, accountability" are the longest of all the words in this statement and may be appropriate in this situation. So this does not necessarily apply.
3. "the abuse of" may be a little exaggeratory (is that word?) and could simplify the statement if removed.
4. "that have become" is a passive sentence which could be rewritten to say the same thing
5. I have nothing. sorry.
6. I personally didn't find anything too barbarous in this statement but that could be the result of my lack of opinion on the matter.

This statement wasn't too bad in regards to Orwell's standards. I'm sure that politicians do break the rules often and I will definately look out for them. In the mean time i'm going to reevaluate the methods that I use when writing my own compositions. Maybe there are a few things I could learn so that I don't leave Orwell followers in shock of my poor writing skills.

Dane Cook...You love him or you hate him but i don't wanna hear it

So I decided to watch a little Dane Cook because he has a very unique method of comedy. It's become a signature debate on most college campuses and I find him pretty classic, but that's just my opinion. Anyway, I enjoyed my experience doing this comedy assignment.

See, the way I look at it, Dane Cook highlights normal things we do in life and delivers it with his own twisted charisma and style. Like they say, timing is everything and he knows how to tell a good joke. His material stands out because of his personality. I think if I attempted to repeat a Dane Cook joke it wouldn't be quite as funny and thats just because I couldn't do his method of performing any kind of justice. The way Dane Cook takes real life and re-tells it to the audience from his perspective is my favorite aspect of this verbal art. I love his dirty mouth, his humble approach, and the energy he gives in every performance. He's different and I think that is where the controversy comes from and I really like that about him.

It's kind of silly but I can remember the first times I saw his performances. It's really special when a comedian can make you laugh so hard you remember exactly where you were when you first saw that episode. How does that happen? Why is it so funny? Well, I think that some part of us can relate and in that expectation of the situation the perfect delivery of the punch line will make or break the joke. The play on words, the inflection of the voice, and the visual images painted throughout the performance make the whole experience very enjoyable. And honestly, everybody loves a good time. Especially when it involves making fun at yourself ( and we all need to be able to laugh at ourselves). So check out Dane Cook. Good stuff.

My Favorite Joke: For Mature Audiences Only
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOwFlE29eXQ

Jakobsen-

1. Referential Function: orientation toward the context, the leading task of numerous messages
2. Emotive function: interjections of emotion that reflect impression of speaker's emotional state
3. Conative function: vocative or imperative addressing of receiver)
4. Phatic function: checking channel working
5. Metalingual function: the code that one speaks with so that others may understand context
6. Poetic function: "deepens the the fundamental dichotomy of signs and objects"

Hymes- Speech Event Factors

1. Sender
2. Receiver
3. Message form
4. Channel
5. Code
6. Topic
7. Setting

So I definately understand how to apply the speech event factors to a speech event but applying the functions is a little bit trickier. A speech event that I can use as an example is a Notre Dame Pep Rally. The Sender or Addresser is either a coach, player, or special guest (maybe even a leprechaun). The Receiver or Addressee is the audience and/or team. The Message form can be noted as a public broadcast, the Channel is verbal,and the Code is American english. The Topic could be inspirational speaking done in a traditional setting. The Setting itself is an athletic arena.

I think the functions would all apply to the more specific details of the speech event. Referential could be about the energy of the speaker to the audience, Emotive can discuss emotions elicited during the speech act, Phatic could be a reference to audience/speaker interaction, and the Poetic function can refer to the deeper understanding of what the speaker is talking about and the audience is experiencing through that speech act.

Anyways, i'm sure we'll dissect this further tomorrow. I'm excited to get through the dense material!!!

Speech Acts and the World We Live In

Speech acts are tricky. The first two articles have quirky yet sophisticated methods of explaining what illocutionary acts and performance utternaces are relative to our daily communication. What is a speech act? Good question. I took it as being a combination of words that have meaning and "power" beyond just the words themselves. The words, depending on the speaker and the audience, can command, create, acknowledge, and/or do things that matter in our lives. The performance utterance article spoke of the words "i do" and the value it has in ceremonially making marriages complete. We have an amazing method of putting power behind words, statements, and phrases despite the fact that there is no immediate form of punishment or authority there to enforce it. We may see the reprocutions later, but in that moment the words are sufficient enough to influence our actions and behaviors. The tricky part is how we place that power and the boat christening example revealed to us that actions and words only mean so much. Until you decide who has the power to make these words into "actions", then can they have their true value in our culture.

Through out the world there are thousands of languages spoken. These various countries and cultures rely on their language to performe rituals, ceremonies, and other religious acts. These are mere words put in various orders, possibly even sung or performed, but they mean so much more. This idea of a speech act is seen world-wide. The things we do with words are as important as the things we do in life. They work hand in hand, and we give power to these words. We give holiness and life to these words and in return we feel hope, love, and contentment. How fascinating.